A Devil's Soul
by choconeko
Summary: Something strange is happening in Limbo City, so it's up to Soul and Maka to investigate. What happens when they cross paths with everyone's favorite fast talking, red clad devil hunter? Soul might not be the only one getting Maka Chops to the head...
1. Chapter 1

**Hmm, so I suppose this is where I put a disclaimer ya? Seems unnecessary but here goes. Obviously I own nothing put the plot otherwise I'd be rich and not writing stories here, but since I don't…here goes nothing! Oh, and there will be liberties taken with small things such as age and the like but nothing too drastic. I'm also going to go ahead and assume ya'll know these two universes fairly well so I won't be going into great detail about how the things that would have been covered in their respective series are. Now really, it's show time!**

* * *

It had been a few years since the defeat of the Kishin Asura and Death City had finally returned to normal. Or as normal as it could be considering it housed the illustrious Death Weapon Meister Academy, better known as the DWMA, and was watched over by Shinigami-sama, the lord of death himself. The heroes who finally put an end to Asura's madness were moving on with life also.

The ninja and self-proclaimed god Black Star and his weapon partner Tsubaki were still trying to collect the necessary souls needed for Tsubaki to become a death scythe. They had moved into her family's old estate and while Black Star seemed to have matured a small bit, he still always wanted to put on a "Big Show" and ruined most of their chances for getting the evil souls they were assigned.

Death the Kid, the only son of Shinigami-sama, was still obsessed with making everything symmetrical but didn't seem to break down as much when something wasn't. His weapons, twin demon pistols Liz and Patty Thompson, had stayed by his side since they had become like family in the years they had been together and had slowly been coaxing him out of his symmetry induced rants so that they didn't interfere with their daily lives as much anymore. He even had a full Sanzu line in his hair which gave him hope that one day, the other two disgustingly asymmetrical lines would connect making his image perfect.

Maka Albarn and her partner Soul "Eater" Evans had been busy even after things had settled down. Maka had finally realized her dream of turning Soul into a death scythe more powerful than her father and had even become a 3-star meister in the process. Shinigami-sama had congratulated them and wanted them to continue work as partners since they worked so well together. He would only call upon Soul as a weapon when it was needed. They stayed in Death City but were frequently sent out to deal with missions involving powerful pre-kishin souls causing problems. If there was one thing that Asura was right about, it was that even with him gone, madness would always be present. There could be no balance in the world if madness was not there to counter peace.

Maka sighed and flopped down on the couch next to her weapon partner. It had been a long and tiring mission in Russia trying to stop a witch from turning a small village into a giant sacrifice for more power. Even though they had come out victorious, it wasn't without its price. Her whole body hurt, right down to the tips of her toes. Even at her level, witches were still a pain to deal with though luckily she didn't have orders to exterminate them often. Maka kicked off her boots and sank further into the couch as her partner did the same. She felt like she could stay there for hours but an unfortunate ringing sound floated throughout the room and stopped that idea in its tracks.

"Ugh…Maka go answer the mirror. Cool guys like me don't do that sort of thing and the ringing is making my head hurt," the white haired male groaned at her from his spot on the couch.

Peeling herself from the cushy furniture, the blonde scythe meister trudge over to the mirror they had hung near the front door for the sole purpose of Shinigami-sama getting in touch with them and not using one that could be embarrassing like the bathroom mirror. She tapped on the mirror to "pick up the line" so to speak, and watched as the ripples became a clear image of the cloaked death god.

"Yo yo wuzzup Maka? How are things? I hope you didn't have too much trouble with that witch I sent you after."

Maka was always secretly amused watching Shinigami-sama's movements when he spoke. The mask he wore hid his face but his large hands and posture always seemed to convey the emotion that was otherwise hidden. Maka smiled, "No, not much trouble Shinigami-sama. Soul and I executed her and took her soul without much fuss."

Sure she was lying but he didn't need to know that. The mission was completed and without serious injury, that's all that mattered. Shinigami-sama was about to get to the point of his call when he was interrupted by a loud yell.

"MAAAAAAKAAAA! Are you hurt? Do you need papa to come over and bandage you up like when you were little!"

"SHINIGAMI CHOP!"

Now lying on the Death Room floor was a man in a black suit with red hair that Maka would swear up and down was _not_ her father. His name was Spirit and he was one of Shinigami-sama's death scythes though how the death god put up with his antics was a mystery. The shinigami merely cleared his throat and continued, "Now then Maka, I know you and Soul just returned but I'm afraid I've got an important mission for you two that will need to be started as soon as possible. It seems there is something strange going on in a place called Limbo City. I need you and Soul to go investigate. Reports are that there is a strong amount of pre-kishin souls lurking around in high concentration but that's not all. There's something else going on that doesn't sit very well with me and I would like the two of you to go and report back with what you find. I've already taken the liberty of renting you two an apartment for the duration of your stay as I think you may be there awhile."

Maka nodded, "We'll leave now Shinigami-sama and thank you for the apartment." She tried not to let the tiredness or disappointment show in her voice. They had just walked through the door not even 15 minutes ago and they already had to rush back out again? Well, it would do no good complaining. After all, she should feel proud that he entrusted her with so many important tasks. It made her feel that much more like her mother who was an excellent meister herself.

"Good to hear Maka! Don't overdo it, and call if you find anything! Safe journey!" With that, he cut connection to the meister's mirror and the image cleared to show her own reflection. Maka had changed over the years, as had everyone with the passage of time. Her dirty blonde hair was at the middle of her back now when it was down and instead if pulling it into pigtails; she simply threw it all back into a high ponytail with her bangs framing her face and green eyes. Much to her annoyance, especially since Soul loved to tease her about it whenever he could, her chest was still fairly flat despite being almost 20 now; she was only a B-cup. She had kept her usual meister attire though. A red plaid skirt, white button up long sleeved shirt under a yellow sweater vest, and a green and white striped tie. Sighing, she walked over to the couch and began putting her black and white buckled boots back on, nudging Soul a bit as she did.

"Come on Soul, we've got another mission to take care of."

Soul groaned and moved his head to face her, looking at her with tired red eyes. "Maka, are you kidding me? We just got back! What are we going to run off and do this time?"

Despite her weapon's and even her own body's protest, Maka got off the couch and slipped her long black coat and white gloves back on. "Shinigami-sama says it's important. There's a large amount of pre-kishin souls in some place called Limbo City and he thinks there's something else going on too. He wants us to go and check it out. He even rented us an apartment."

Soul slapped his hand over his face and slowly slid it down, giving a dejected sigh, "I guess it's a good thing we haven't unpacked yet then huh? All our stuff is still tied down to my bike...man, this situation is so uncool."

The white haired weapon got off the couch and put his own black jacket back on, he hadn't even taken his shoes off yet. He leaned back, cracking his back to try and relieve some of the stiffness and looked over at his partner, "Well, I guess we should get going. The sooner we head out, the sooner we can find the apartment and crash for a while."

Maka made a noise of agreement and walked out the front door with him to the red and orange motorcycle parked out front. She got on the back of it after him, securely holding onto his torso as the engine came to life and they headed out once more.

* * *

Night had fallen by the time the pair made it into Limbo City and already, Maka's soul perception was picking up strong signs of what felt like pre-kishin souls, but something was off. Over the years, her ability had grown and she could now scan a larger area, even sometimes sense a witch's soul despite any soul protect in place, but what she sensed now didn't seem to feel as straight forward as it ought to have. They parked Soul's bike and brought their bags inside the small apartment before heading back out into the city, much to Soul's protest.

"But Soul, it'll be easier to do some investigating at night. We'll just do a little bit ok? I'll even let you sleep in tomorrow."

The red eyed weapon grunted in annoyance but complied and shoved his hands in his pocket as he walked next to her. It's not like Maka would have really given him a choice anyway.

The pair walked along the streets, noting how eerie and empty the city seemed at night. With her soul perception, Maka tried to lead them to where the pre-kishin souls were but it seemed like they keep moving around rapidly, almost like teleporting. She had never seen it done but then again, the monsters that strayed from the human path took on all sorts of attributes when they consumed a human soul, who's to say teleporting would be so out of the question? Just when she thought this night would prove to be a useless venture, she sensed something behind them. It wasn't what a pre-kishin soul felt like though and as she turned to face it, it didn't look like any pre-kishin she had ever seen either.

What appeared behind the meister and weapon looked like some deranged Halloween costume of a grim reaper. Black billowy cloaks and scythes, but the faces were far too real with red glowing eyes to simply be children running amuck at night. There was a group of about 6 and Maka was silently unnerved at how they got the drop on the pair but she quickly shook it out of her mind and focused on her next action. Glancing at her partner, she saw the same set look on his face that mirrored her own as he nodded at her unspoken request and transformed into a black and red scythe that easily fell into the girl's hands.

"I'm not sure what you are, but I do know that this evil must be purged. In the name of Shinigami-sama, your souls are mine!"

Whatever the creatures were waiting for vanished as they let out a shriek and advanced on the blonde. She easily parried the first blows that these wraiths threw at her with her own scythe and took her chance to attack. The first one she sliced through fell to the ground in a heap of sand but instead of a floating red soul, it left behind what looked like red gems. Maka stared at it questioningly, "Gems? Where is its soul?"

She didn't have long to think about it before more attacks came at her. Apparently seeing that she was no push over caused the creatures to attack more vigorously. The scythe meister turned her weapon upside down to block a horizontal swing with her staff and kicked up at the back of the blade, swinging it up in an arc to slice up the middle of another wraith and pull her weapon upright once again. Two down, four to go. Maka held her own, dodging and blocking the weapons that came her way and would have gotten a painful blade to the back if a bullet had not gone whizzing by her head and into the forehead of the creature behind her. Startled, she looked behind her to see a pile of sand and more of those red gems. Facing back towards the direction of where the bullet came from, she found her answer to the unasked question of _'what the hell?'_

"You guys started the party without me! I'm hurt."

Behind the group of creatures stood a man with silver hair and a long red leather coat, his arm outstretched with a gun in his hand and a cocky smirk on his face. Maka had an incredulous look on her face as she stared at the man. Was he for real? He was almost as bad as Black Star! She didn't like that first these things had gotten the drop on her, but now this guy too! And his soul was…strange. It was human, but yet not. It's like it had been split unevenly in two with one side clearly human and the other she just couldn't put her finger on. She knew it wasn't kishin or witch so what could that other part be? She didn't have time to wonder any longer though; there were still enemies to dispatch of.

Maka gave one last look to the new comer and decided to focus on the previous fight, swinging her weapon around and taking the head clean off one of the distracted wraiths. The man in red wasn't attacking her so for now, he didn't matter. Unfortunately for Maka, just because she chose to ignore him, didn't mean he'd do the same.

Dante chuckled at the look the blonde gave him and examined her from head to toe as he watched her turn to decapitate another demon. Did she have a kinky school girl fetish or what? And she was wielding a scythe? Oh yeah, he could get used to that. "Now, what's a cute looking gal like you doing hanging out with these Hell Prides? I could show you a way better time babe."

Maka faltered in her next swing and had to bring her blade up in the last minute in a sloppy block to stop the hell pride's attack. What the hell was with this guy? Who the hell flirts with a stranger in the middle of a fight? Two more gunshots rang out as Dante dispatched the remaining demons with ease. These small fry never lasted long with him.

Even though the, what did that guy call them? Hell Prides? Even with them gone, Maka kept her guard up and held onto Soul in his weapon form. Just because this guy talked sweet words didn't mean he wasn't up to something. She still didn't know what was up with his peculiar soul wavelength so she kept her distance. Without the immediate threat of being impaled on some creature's weapon, Maka got a better look at the man. He was tall, maybe about 6'4" with silver hair hanging just above his blue eyes. That cocky smirk was still in place and the meister wished he would just drop it already.

"Thanks for earlier; you didn't need to step in like that. Um…who are you anyway?" _'What are you?'_

Dante holstered his guns and stepped towards the blonde. He noticed she was still tense and tried keep her distance from him, but of course Dante wasn't having any of that. He got close enough to throw his arm around her waist if he had wanted to and his smirk widened when she frowned and seemed to bring her weapon up a bit as if to say_ 'Back the fuck off!'_

"Well you know, I saw a damsel in distress and I just had to rush to her aid. I'm not gonna hurt you babe, you can lower your weapon. The name's Dante. And what's yours sweetheart?"

That stupid smirk of his just wouldn't leave his face! And what was with all the damn nicknames? She was weighing her options, was telling him her name all that bad? He didn't seem like he wanted to harm her and she couldn't sense any malicious intent from his soul wave length. With a sigh, she relinquished her hold on Soul and in a flash of light, he was standing next to her in his human form with his hands shoved in his pockets and a bored look on his face. Maka gestured to the two of them, "My name is Maka and this is my weapon partner Soul. We're here to investigate some strange activity that's been happening in this city." _'Strange things like your soul...just how can it be split like that?'_

Dante looked mildly amused that her weapon had transformed like that. It was almost like a devil arm in the respect that it had a living soul but he had never known one to shift back into their body so easily. The scythe weapon Soul had on an orange shirt, brown pants, and a black jacket. His attire certainly was not as odd as the girls but then again, he made up for that with his white hair, red eyes, and sharp teeth. The demon hunter smirked and thought to himself, _'Definitely an interesting pair. I'd say my night just got a lot less boring!' _

The half-breed turned and gestured with his hand to them, walking back the way he had come from, "Follow me, I think I can explain this strange shit you've been sent to check out."

Soul and Maka shared a look with one another before Soul shrugged his shoulders, "It couldn't hurt and it's not like we know what the hell's going on here. Besides, this could turn out to be pretty cool." The red eyed male grinned at his partner. Maybe this trip wouldn't be so bad after all.

Sighing, she agreed with him and went to follow Dante. She shouldn't worry so much, she knew that but…the man's soul wasn't like anything she had seen before and these creatures weren't behaving like pre-kishin souls. As she passed by, Maka grabbed one of the red gem stones that was still harmlessly floating over a pile of sand and placed it in her pocket. Maybe Dante could tell her what it was and what it did. At least now she and Soul had somewhere to start with their mission, that is if Dante could actually be of any use and not just smooth talk her the whole time. The blonde meister would be sure to Maka Chop him into the ground if he was anything like her dad...


	2. Chapter 2

**So I like the idea of Crona being an unspecified gender, but for the few times I mention said meister in this fic, I will refer to Crona as a male simply because it's easier to write when I have actual use of pronouns. **

* * *

As the trio walked through the desolate streets of Limbo City, Maka had made some observations.

1- Dante did not know how to keep his hands to himself. The meister had, for what seemed like the thousandth time, swatted his hands away from her shoulders as he tried to place his arm around her while they walked and he played 'Tour Guide'.

2- Limbo City, while large, was so empty feeling that it was almost like a ghost town._ 'Maybe it's just because of the late hour…I mean, it _is_ like, 2am.'_

3- Soul seemed to get along just fine with the red clad hunter. It seemed that he deemed the other man a 'Cool Guy' and for all the ire Dante inspired in Maka to feel towards him, having her partner side with the other male felt childishly like a form of betrayal. Maka almost stomped her feet in protest of their quickly growing friendship but refrained, reminding herself that she was a grown 20 (almost) year old woman after all.

The blonde tried to ignore the mindless chatter of the two in front of her, something about motorcycles or something along those lines, and focused on Dante's unusual soul. That split soul of his reminded her vaguely of Crona; the terrifying demon swordsman with the weapon infused into his black blood. Maka still got chills thinking about the first time she had run into the awkward meister in the cathedral. She'd never seen a weapon's soul so close to overtaking the meister's and it was honestly frightening. Dante's was similar in the sense that something was attached to the human side of his soul but it didn't seem to be in anyway trying to overtake him.

"You know babe, if you wanted to see more of my body so bad, all you had to do was ask. I'd be happy to give you a more unobstructed view when we get to my place."

At the sound of the now familiar voice, Maka was startled out of her thoughts and was mortified to find out that she had indeed been staring a hole into Dante's back unintentionally during her musings. Her face flushed both with embarrassment and indignant anger before she sputtered out a response, "I-I was not…I don't want…Ugh, you're so full of yourself!"

Soul snickered as his meister stood there flustered. It was all harmless fun so he felt no need to come to the girls aid and thus, sat back to watch the two interact. Soul may not have any talent when it came to soul perception, but he knew ever since they got here, something was vexing Maka about this mission so it was nice to see someone pull the serious blonde out of her comfort zone. She really needed to relax.

Maka folded her arms over her chest, glaring at Dante as he looked back at her with that ever present smirk on his face. It didn't help that of course, Soul was siding with his new buddy and found it _hilarious_ as well. "Your place must be huge to accommodate that obnoxious ego of yours then," she bit back at him.

His smirk just widened and he winked, "That's not the only thing that's huge sweetheart."

"MAKA CHOP!"

Even with no book nearby, Maka could still unleash her anger in the very same manner as Shinigami-sama; with her bare hands. Soul winced as he watched Dante get a taste of his partner's fury, having been on the receiving end of it plenty of times as well. Said silver haired man was clutching his head, not sure whether he should laugh at the girl's attempt to hurt him or play it safe and let her think she won that round…

Pft, yeah right. Since when did he ever play it safe?

A Cheshire grin made its way to his face as he merely brought his hands down a moment later and crossed his arms, "Not bad, though I could think of a few other places you could touch since you seem to want your hands on me so bad."

She must have looked like a gaping fish, her mouth hung open and moving as she tried to find words to combat his egotistical statements. Just as she was about to verbally tear him a new one, she suddenly had a very serious look on her face as she stared past the two males in front of her, "Soul."

The weapon in question quirked an eyebrow up at her before lazily looking back over his shoulder to where she was staring and suddenly understood, nodding his head and transforming into a scythe in a flash of light. Maka twirled her weapon around in her hand before placing the bottom of the staff on the ground to lie still and wait for their unexpected guest to show themselves.

No longer in the mood for joking, Maka passed Dante without so much as glancing at him. "This wavelength, I definitely know what it is. Dante, do me a favor and just stay out of this one."

Dante shrugged his shoulders and opted to learn against a nearby building and watch the show. He'd step in if she was in trouble of course, but he also wanted to see what she and her partner were really capable of. "By all means Milady, let's see what you've got."

Maka waited as the soul came closer, it was a pre-kishin alright and as such, it was her duty as a meister to reclaim the tainted soul for Shinigami-sama. She saw the grotesque way the once human body twisted and mutated as a direct result of consuming human souls for power. The former human's limbs were elongated, giving him long reach and a very disproportionate body. The face would have been normal still…if half of it wasn't seemingly melted off to expose jagged bone underneath. Sharp teeth and claw like hands finished the portrait of this monster perfectly.

Keeping a calm exterior, Maka balanced her scythe over her shoulder and looked at the aspiring kishin soul unimpressed as it came closer, clearly wanting to tear her in two and devour her soul for more power. She had faced far worse and more terrifying looking souls in all the years she'd been a meister and there was currently more pressing matters weighing on her mind. _'More like _someone_ is weighing on my mind...'_ Shrugging her partner off her shoulder, she brought him in front of her to discuss a plan. "Soul, let's use resonance and end this quickly alright? I want to ask that obnoxious man a few things before we call it quits for the night and we can finally relax."

Able to see his soul reflected in the blade of her scythe, she saw him give her a large grin. "Fine by me Maka, you're the meister after all. Besides, we gotta show that guy how cool we are don't we?"

The green eyed meister gave a small grin, "Of course we do….lets go, soul resonance!"

Feeling their souls connect, Maka felt the energy around her pick up and whip around violently. She focused on pushing it all into her blade, causing it to grow to a massive size, becoming crescent shaped and translucent blue in color. Locking her eyes on the pre-kishin, she ran forward with ease despite the fact that the weapon she now held should have been impossible for her small frame to hold up. In one clean motion, she struck, "Figure 6 Hunter!"

The slice itself looked like a single horizontal cut, but the after image of a 6 gave light to not only the name of the attack, but also as to why her foe was now cut into multiple pieces instead of just the two halves one cut would have caused. The monstrous body seemed to twist in on itself and vanish, leaving only a floating red orb behind.

Dante whistled long and low as he watched the creature be dispatched of so easily. He had to admit he was a bit impressed. The girl looked so fragile with her lithe body that he didn't think she could really carry out such an attack that cleanly. Add that to her being a mere human and the half-devil was even more surprised by the increase in power he felt from her when she and Soul performed their resonance.

Soul shifted once more into his body and walked over to the soul, grabbing it and licking his lips before swallowing the soul whole. The pair made their way back over to Dante as if they had just gotten back from a stroll in the park.

Pushing off the building he had been leaning against with his shoulder, Dante grinned and clapped for the two. "Very nice babe, I didn't think you had it in you!" Watching how they worked together made him slightly weary, though he didn't show it. How do you pull off a move like that and only be human? Then there was the fact that Soul transforming into a scythe was exactly like how a devil arm worked but he didn't seem to be anything more than human either. Little did he know, he and Maka had the same thoughts about one another, _'You're not normal, what are you?'_

Maka rolled her eyes, "Never judge a book by its cover then I suppose." Stretching her arms up, she brought them back down and looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue leading them to wherever he was taking them.

Dante chuckled, continuing to walk in the direction they had been traveling. "Wouldn't dream of it kitten, wouldn't dream of it."

* * *

Finally arriving at their destination, Maka was not impressed by the run down looking building they had been led to. A simple red neon sign that said 'Devil May Cry' was the only indication that this was a business. Inside the shop didn't seem to fare any better than the exterior. The main room was fairly empty save for a desk, couch, pool table, beat up jukebox, and a drum set. Maka noticed the strange skulls and weapons littering the walls, wondering if those creatures from before had found a place on Dante's trophy wall somewhere. It was a total bachelor pad, complete with copious amounts of empty pizza boxes, the occasional porn or car magazine scatted around, and beer cans strewn about. Shaking her head, Maka decided to take care of the important things first. "Do you have any mirrors around here?"

Lifting a thumb above his shoulder, Dante pointed behind him, "Bathrooms that-a-way. You don't need to primp for me though babe, I think you look _just fine_." The way he emphasized the last two words and shot her a wolfish grin, made Maka shake her head in irritation as she made her way to the door he pointed at.

Closing the door behind her, the blonde blew hot breath onto the mirror above the sink of the cramped bathroom and wrote in the numbers needed, muttering to herself, "42-42-564, whenever you want to knock on death's door…" She didn't worry about waking the death god up, as he always said to call at any time for any reason. Maka waited patiently as the mirror changed from a reflective surface, to light ripples traveling across the glass accompanying the ringing sound of a phone, and eventually the figure of Shinigami-sama appeared.

"Well hello Maka! You're up late I see! Or early, depending on how you want to look at it," the reaper greeted.

"Sorry for the late call Shinigami-sama, but Soul and I have already found some things of interest in Limbo City that I wanted to talk to you about." Maka kept her voice low, not wanting to risk Dante ease dropping outside the door.

She continued, "We've come across some strange monsters already. They weren't pre-kishins or witches and once we executed them, they didn't leave behind souls, but rather these red gemstones." She pulled out the stone she had grabbed earlier from her pocket and held it up. "There's also a man that calls himself Dante that seems to be familiar with these creatures but his soul…Shinigami-sama, it's like his soul is split into two halves but one is more dominant then the other. I can only tell that half of him is human and the other half is unlike anything I've ever seen before…"

The shinigami thought over this information for a bit, though Maka could never tell what he was thinking with that mask in the way. He had a good idea about what was going on in this city based off of what Maka had reported but he needed more information. Finally he spoke, "Maka, is he with you now? If so, I'd like to see him myself. Maybe I can 'fill in the blanks' so to speak if I saw him."

Nodding her head, Maka turned and opened the door slightly, "Dante, will you come here please?"

All too happy to oblige, the devil hunter walked over to her, "Trying to get me all alone in a small space behind closed doors kitten? I didn't know you wanted me so bad!"

Maka turned bright red and hoped against hope that the death god didn't hear him. The moment he was in the bathroom, his carefree grin dropped as he saw a cloaked figure in his bathroom mirror. Quickly drawing his gun, the silver haired man pointed at it with a frown on his face, "You'd better explain yourself quick girly. I don't like seeing Hell Vanguards in my mirrors uninvited."

Not even bothering to ask what a Hell Vanguard was, Maka gently placed her hand on his to lower his weapon, " I don't know what you're talking about, but this is Shinigami-sama, the lord of death and the one who sent us here. He just wanted to talk to you." She hoped using a soft tone in her voice would help defuse the situation and judging by how he let her move his arm, it seemed to be working.

The reaper didn't at all seem bothered by the man's reaction to him. "Ah, you must be Dante I take it? Very nice to meet you my boy! I'm sorry for the rude intrusion into your bathroom, but you see, mirrors and windows are the easiest way for my meisters and weapons to get in touch with me wherever they are. Certainly cuts down on the phone bill when it comes to international calling!"

Though he was still a bit on edge, Dante quirked a smile at the reaper's joke and didn't raise his gun again. "No prob pops, what can I do for you?"

"It's not just me, but what you can do for Maka as well. There's something about you that has been puzzling her and seeing you now, I know what it is. It's your soul though Dante, so it's up to you if you want her to know. In any case, can you tell me why your city seems to have a strong influx of demons running rampant as of late? It's a bit disconcerting."

Maka stared at the reaper. _'Did he say demons?'_ She wasn't surprised by their existence per say, having dealt with odd creatures before, but it was still a foreign word to wrap her mind around. She glanced over at Dante, seeing him merely shrug his shoulders, "Couldn't tell you pops, but I do intend to find out. Awful nice of you to loan me some of your people to help with that though." At this, he put his arm around Maka's waist to emphasize his point and with the cramped space; she couldn't twist out of his grip.

"Yes well, it is always good to make new allies. Maka, please let Dante know how he can get in touch with me in the future and work together on trying to figure out this mystery. Good luck kids! I hope to hear from you again soon." With that, the shinigami cut the connection and the mirror showed the pair's reflection again.

"So that's your boss huh?"

"In a sense, yes. Um…you can let go of me now." The blonde gave him a halfhearted glare, too exhausted to put more into it.

Dante merely smirked and held her closer, "Why would I want to let a cute girl like you out of my grasp?"

"MAKA CH-!"

Just as she brought her hand down towards his head, he quickly caught her wrist with his free hand and stopped her mid-chop. Maka had a faint blush dusting her cheeks though whether it was from anger or his close proximity was unsure. The quick movements and unreal strength he possessed coupled with what she had seen of his soul…she couldn't stop the question from leaving her lips, "What are you?"

Keeping his playful grin, he decided to answer her, "Half devil baby."


	3. Chapter 3

**Soooo fair warning, I'm drunk writing this with my good buddy Jose Cuervo. Yay tequila! I already had the majority of it done before I started drinking buuuuuuut….this seems more fun to finish it this way! Plus that's what spell check is for right? And hell, if I end up hating it when I read it sober then I'll change it before posting the next chapter :D **

* * *

Maka's eyes widened_. 'So that's why his soul is split...it's two different soul types but they still create one whole...'_

Dante still had a hold on her, pressing her close to him as he watched her reaction. He didn't know quite what to expect from the blonde and keeping her close meant he could restrain her if necessary. She'd obviously dealt with monstrous beings in the past and didn't seem too worried when it came to facing off against demons if the calm exterior she displayed at their first meeting was any indication. _'Well, she's not shrieking and trying to get away so that's a good sign.'_

"So that's why..." she muttered.

Raising an eyebrow, he looked down at her face, gauging her reaction. "So that's why what, babe?"

"When I first saw your soul wavelength...why it was in two different, yet still connected pieces. Half human soul, half devil soul," she explained. Maka's face shifted from surprise, to a small smile. Now she understood what she saw when she looked at him with soul perception and understanding new things always made her happy.

Seeing her smile made him relax, though her words now puzzled him. Dante tried to remain nonchalant when asking, but now his curiosity was peaked, "Nice to see you aren't freaked out by me babe, but how exactly can you see my soul?"

So elated with this new information and the fact that she wouldn't lose sleep over her curiosity tonight, Maka didn't pay any mind to the fact that she was not only standing pressed flush against him with her free hand lightly resting on his chest, but his arm was still around her waist and he still held her other wrist. "Some meisters have an ability called 'Soul Perception' which lets them see the souls around them. Very useful when you're trying to find someone that doesn't want to be found. It also lets us see what type of soul a person possesses and..." she trailed off, finally seeming to realize the position they were in.

Maka's face would have put a tomato to shame as she started trying to pull away from the man. Unfortunately, due to the confined space, she didn't get very far before she ran out of room.

"I...I've got to get back to S-Soul and um...yeah."

He let her go, chuckling at how flustered he could make her just by holding her to him and followed her out the door and into the living room.

Soul was checking out the drum set when he heard two pairs of boots. Looking over his shoulder, he saw how red Maka's face was and couldn't help but laugh. Never one to miss an opportunity, Soul couldn't help but tease her. "Something the matter Maka? Your face is pretty flushed."

"Soul…." His meister coldly glared at him, holding up a book she had picked up off the desk she had passed in a threatening manner. She hadn't even bothered to read the title of her secondary weapon.

Seeing the book, Soul knew he was screwed. He threw both hands up in front of him and slowly backed away from the woman. Watching as a feral grin slowly stretched its way across her face, he gulped nervously, "N-Now Maka, just put the book down…you don't really wanna hit a cool guy like me do you?"

Unfortunately for Soul, (and when it wasn't him pissing her off, their enemies) Maka had been training with Black Star throughout the years on and off. Sure, she didn't pack quite the punch that the teal haired meister did, but her Maka Chops hurt a whole hell of a lot more and she stood a better chance in hand to hand combat if she and Soul were ever separated for some reason.

Dante watched the two with an amused smile, content to let it play out. To see the white haired male cower away from the blonde made him to chuckle, "Geez Soul, take it like a man."

The scythe weapon glared at his new friend and pointed an accusatory finger at him. "I don't know what your head may be made of man, but mine's not as resilient! This is all your fault any-!"

"MAKA CHOP!"

A loud 'thwack' was heard as Maka brought the borrowed reading material down on Soul's head with enough force to harshly slam him face first into the ground. Turning her face up slightly in annoyance, she turned on her heel and walked over to give the book back to its owner who was currently doubled over laughing and clutching at the edge of his desk to keep from falling over.

Maka leaned against the opposite side of the desk with her hip, her arms folded over her chest and far calmer now that she had unleashed her fury on Soul's head, "Now that that's over with, we should talk about some things…" She waited for Dante to stop laughing and for Soul to peel himself up off the floor before continuing, "Shinigami-sama wants us to work together, but we don't know anything about you and vice versa."

"Well what do you want to know sweatheart? My favorite movie?" Dante gave her a smug grin; irritating her was quickly becoming a fun way to pass the time. _'That and she looks hot when she's pissed' _he thought to himself, but why tell her that? It'd ruin his fun.

Far past being in the mood to deal with his antics anymore, Maka merely sighed in vexation, pinching the bridge of her nose with two fingers, and decided that the direct approach would be best with the silver haired hunter. "No, couldn't care less. I want to know what you're all about. All the unusual weapons around here can't be just for decoration, especially since you seem to take some of them with you on what, a leisurely stroll at two in the morning? Those things, those demons didn't faze you in the slightest and you even know what their names are. Not to mention your half devil soul…"

_'Geez, she can be as demanding as Lady is when she wants money from me!' _Holding his hands up in mock surrender, he humored her with a response, "You'd be right little lady. Those weapons aren't there to add to the decorum. I hunt demons for a living. You know, generally keeping the world from coming to an end and playing the hero, stuff like that. I also save babes with school girl fetishes when they're in danger." He threw the last part in with a Cheshire grin on his face, seeing it irk Maka right away.

Soul was still rubbing his head, trying to ease the pain as he asked, "Wait, half devil soul? How the hell do you manage that?"

Dante sat back in the chair behind his desk, feet propped up and his hands behind his head. "Well, when a man loves a woman and the man is a devil but the woman is human..."

The scythe weapon chuckled at the others explanation and sat down on the beat up leather couch, "Alright smart ass, point taken."

"So what about you two? It's not every day you see a person become a weapon for their buddy to use in the service of the god of death."

Maka tried to hide a yawn behind her hand before answering, "In Death City, there's a school created and run by Shinigami-sama to help keep humanity safe and keep the balance in the world. It's called the DWMA, Death Weapon Meister Academy. Some people are born with capability to be a meister or weapon and this school gives them a chance to control and hone their skills. You're matched up with a partner that's compatible with your soul wavelength when you enroll. If the meister and weapon aren't compatible, the meister has no chance of wielding their partner in weapon form."

The silver haired slayer couldn't help but grin in amusement at her explanation, "So the great lord of death trains kids to help do his work? That's fucked up."

Maka scowled at him, tiredness forgotten and her hands clenching into fists as she resisted the urge to hit the red coated man. It seemed he really didn't understand at all. Shinigami-sama, even if he could do the task all on his own, wanted to help those with the strange and seemingly rare ability to become weapons or meisters. She proudly served death and wasn't about to take some half devils insults on the matter. "He can't be everywhere at once you know! Even if he could, the academy helps people understand the abilities they have been given. He helps them find a way to control it."

There it was again. That fire and anger in her green eyes that he recently found he liked to provoke. And it was _sooo_ easy too. A few choice words or touches and the scythe meister would get riled up over the simplest thing. Chuckling, Dante waved his hand as if to dismiss the conversation all together, "Alright alright, I get it. So now that there's a problem in Limbo City, you're here, right?"

"Obviously." Maka snapped back at him. She was still holding back the urge to hit him. A small part of her knew it wouldn't matter even if she did hit him. Dante had shown her before that her Maka-Chop didn't do much to him or he could just keep her from attacking all together if he wanted. The recent memory of being trapped against him in the bathroom made her face flush ever so slightly in annoyance. At least, that's what she told herself it was.

"Well I hope your Shinigami-sama knows my services don't come cheap."

"You can tell him that yourself. I'm sure he'd be more than willing to pay for your help, if you even are any anyway." The blonde meister placed a hand on her hip, giving him a look of shear irritation. She resisted the urge of pointing out how willing he seemed to want to help when they were first talking to the death god in the bathroom mirror and he had grabbed her. If she didn't get some sleep soon, she was going to snap and lose it. "Oh, I'd also suggest getting a mirror to put somewhere a little less private then a bathroom. Unless you want Shinigami-sama to interrupt a shower or something."

Soul nodded his head in agreement, "Yeah, the old man really does have the worst sense of timing when he decides to call." The red eyed male stretched his arms up, getting comfy on the couch until he heard a sultry purr coming from over by the drum set. Ignoring the banter of his meister and the red clad devil hunter, he got off the couch and moved towards the sounds, a puzzled look on his face.

He stood in front of a purple guitar, swearing he could hear a low purr coming from the strange instrument. Soul ran his fingers over the guitar strings lightly, listening to soft notes each cord made in addition to the sound of the sensual purr he heard. He could even feel a slight electric shock coming from the seemingly harmless instrument. "Weird guitar…"

Dante leaned to the side, seeing what the scythe weapon was playing with. "I'd be careful if I was you Soul, Nevan has a thing for interesting looking guys."

Quirking an eyebrow, Soul turned to face the other man. "You named your guitar Nevan?"'

"That's not just a guitar man, it's a devil arm. Nevan was a vampire I fought once. See, all the weapons I have hanging around this place are kinda like you. They once had bodies but are now weapons. When a devil is defeated, they can turn into a weapon and give themselves to the one who beat them, in this case me, or they can be destroyed for good. While you can revert back to your body, they can't."

Maka looked over at her partner, seeing the guitar in question and stifling a gasp. With her soul perception, she could see the soul of a woman in the guitar. Not human, but definitely female. Listening to Dante's explanation, the blonde meister took a chance to gaze at the other weapons hanging on the walls of the shop. Each weapon had a different looking soul wavelength. It was such a foreign concept, a weapon having a soul but not a body. _'Guess it's just a demon thing then.'_ Even if it was because they were demons, Maka couldn't keep the sickening feeling from creeping into her heart at the brief thought of Soul becoming nothing more than a weapon and not a person at all. Or Liz and Patti or Tsubaki or any weapon for that matter. The blonde tried to stifle a yawn once more, unable to find a clock in the room, but she knew it was way too early in the morning to be awake still. "Look Dante, as fun as this has been, it's late and we've had a long day. How about we pick this up later in the afternoon?"

The half devil gave her a lecherous grin, "If you don't have any place to stay, you could always crash here. Soul could have the couch and I'd let you share my bed kitten."

Maka felt her eye twitch in annoyance at the suggestion. _'Damn pretentious bastard just doesn't know when to quit!' _The blonde shook her head vehemently, "Hell no pervert! We've got an apartment nearby for the time we're here and I fully intend to return to it each night and sleep in my own bed!" Without waiting for Soul to scramble up from the couch, Maka threw open the door to the hunter's office and stormed out.

Soul sighed, stretching his arms up and hefting himself off the couch. Placing his hands in his pockets, he trudged over to the door to follow his infuriated meister, shooting a grin over his shoulder at the other man. "I'll get her to cool down. Well stop by sometime tomorrow afternoon and we can get this show on the road. Later Dante."

Jogging the few short blocks to catch up to her, Soul reached out and grabbed the blonde's gloved hand before she could march off any further. "Geez, he really pissed you off huh?" The scythe weapon kept a hold of her hand, gently rubbing his thumb over the back of it to try and calm her down.

"He's just so...ugh! He's narcissistic-"

"Maka…"

"Egotistical-"

"Maka!"

"Obnoxious-"

"MAKA STOP!"

During her tirade, Maka had started walking forward again, pulling Soul along with her and down the street until he had had enough. When yelling didn't get her attention, the white haired weapon simply tugged her arm hard and picked her up over his shoulder as she fell into him in one fluid motion before turning around and walking off. He ignored her protests and held on tighter as she struggled and screamed to be put back down. "You were going the wrong way idiot…"

"Oh…well…let's just get back to the apartment. Will you put me down now?"

Finally feeling solid ground under her feet again, Maka walked next to Soul back to their temporary home. In his own way, her partner always managed to make her feel better no matter what. It came with all the years the two had spent living together, fighting together, and putting their lives and souls on the line for one another. There truly was no one who was closer to her then Soul Evans and vice versa.

...And it was this bond that the dog witch Ino was going to exploit. She watched the two servants of Shinigami-sama as they made their way back to their apartment in Limbo City through the eyes of her animal familiar, sneering at the pair. The reputations of Maka Albarn and her death scythe weapon Soul Eater were well known in the witch's community and it would be Ino's great pleasure to take out the troublesome team.

It would have to wait though because for now, she would need more time to prepare. Ino's good fortune was on a roll so far. Not only had the reaper sent the specific meister/weapon pair she needed, but they were also working with the younger Son of Sparda! This would certainly allow her to kill two birds with one stone. Witches by nature wanted nothing more than chaos and destruction. The revival of the Kishin Asura by the snake witch Medusa a few years prior was a testament to this mind set but Ino had something much grander in mind. After all, why raise a single kishin when you could raise all of hell instead?


	4. Chapter 4

**First off, thanks for the reviews/alerts and such! Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside haha. It also makes me feel slightly bad about not updating sooner. I very easily lose track of time eheheh…**

**Second….I must admit I'm not entirely too happy with how the first two chapters have played out…they seemed rushed. I'd love y'alls opinion on the matter that's for sure. I'll probably go back and edit them at my leisure while I keep moving this story along; I've procrastinated long enough with the next chapter as it is.**

**Third, Undead3 pointed something out to me that I should probably clear up since it seems like I'm taking more liberties then I thought I would be ^^;; I said I was playing around with age (since it's insane to me that in almost every anime/manga, the heroes are always so young! You can't drive a car, but you can save the world, wtf?) but I should clarify a few other things. Yes, for the most part Soul Eater is following the anime for the simple reason that I needed Asura to have been defeated and the manga hasn't been finished yet or at least not scanned yet to the app I use to read it. There are aspects of the manga that I'll use, such as Maka's Grigori soul and its abilities but I'll explain all those in story as it comes up for those of you that just watched the anime. Dante's timeline is slightly after the first game so Lady and Trish will be around but no Nero…even if I love the kid haha. It also would put his age around what, 28 or so in that game? Well, I did say I would tweak the ages…so let's put him a bit closer to Maka and Soul's age shall we? 24 is what I've been thinking while writing this. Still a cocky arrogant punk, (though I'm not sure you could really say he ever outgrows that) but a tiny bit more mature with his demon hunting prowess and abilities. Also, I just used Limbo City for the name, so don't connect it with any information out about the reboot game because that wasn't my intention. I needed a name and it's the first one that popped into my head at the time since I couldn't remember them ever really naming where the hell Dante started up the Devil May Cry office. And think about it, Death City, Limbo City…see the connection? Well, I thought it was amusing anyway but, I digress…**

**Oh, and don't hesitate to tell me what you think, good or bad. I'd love the view point from someone other than myself : ) Alright, enough with my stalling!**

* * *

Warm, soft rays of sunshine filtered in through partially opened blinds and filled the bedroom with its light. A mass of blankets on the bed in the corner shifted, its occupant letting out a displeased groan as the sun attempted to invade the hard earned sleep. Pulling the blankets up over her head, Maka tried to catch the elusive sleep that was being chased away by the persistent sun, but to no avail. Sighing in frustration, she pulled the blankets back down and shifted to lie on her back. Just because the sun wouldn't let her sleep, didn't mean she had to get out of bed, right? Right.

Maka stared at the ceiling and thought over what information they had gathered on this mission so far… it wasn't much. Limbo City was seemingly infested with pre-kishin souls and demons, said demons left behind weird red gems that she didn't know the purpose of, and to top off the list of enigmas; there was Dante. The scythe meister frowned, just thinking of the man in red irritated her and she hadn't even known him for 24 hours yet! How could anyone possibly be that conceited and cocky? It was like a cross of her father and Black Star all rolled into one, half devil hybrid in leather. _'Not that he looked bad in leather necessarily…' _Wide eyed, Maka shook her head vigorously as if to rid her mind of the thought.

"This is ridiculous…I shouldn't be wasting so much time thinking about him," she muttered to herself before sitting up and stretching her arms over her head. Glancing at the small clock on her temporary home's dresser, she was surprised to see it was actually almost one in the afternoon. "I wonder if Soul's up yet…"

Reluctantly tossing the covers off, Maka got out of bed and started to get dressed. Still fighting off the feeling of just waking, she put on her skirt and white button up blouse, leaving the green and white striped tie hanging loosely from her neck and her hair down, and made her way out to the small kitchen nook. She had made the decision before falling asleep in the wee hours of the morning that after grabbing a bite to eat, they'd head out to search the city for any strange activity. She just couldn't bring herself to be fully dressed and ready before breakfast though, but this was close enough.

"Morning, Soul." Without so much as sparing a passing glance at the table, Maka headed straight for the coffee pot that held a tantalizing aroma which seemed to promise clarity to its consumer, something she desperately needed.

The red eyed weapon casually looked up from his food to his meister's back, "Hey Maka. I got tired of waiting for you to wake up, so I ran out and picked up breakfast from this diner down the block. There's nothing to eat in this joint other than coffee."

Grateful for her partner's impatience for once, Maka smiled and rummaged through the cabinets looking for a plate, her back still to where Soul sat. "So while I was out, I picked up a stray…" he trailed off. Maka swore she could practically hear the large grin stretching over her partners face as she finally found what she was looking for.

"Is that so? Blair's going to be jealous," she teased, thinking of their ridiculously magical purple cat that had taken up residence in their apartment in Death City ever since they had thought she was a witch and went after her soul years ago. Just as she was about to turn, she heard a familiar cocky voice that made her freeze in place. _'Oh you've got to be kidding me; it is __**way **__too early in my day for this…'_

"Hey I know I'm sexy, but Soul's not really my type babe, so Blair doesn't have to worry about a thing."

After mentally debating with herself the pros and cons of just returning to her bed and ignoring the other resident in their home, she sighed and decided to accept the inevitable. The blonde turned fully to face the table where not only Soul sat, but Dante as well with his feet up on the table and the chair tilted back on two legs. She frowned, rolling her eyes and choosing to disregard him, opting instead to dish up the breakfast Soul had brought home onto her plate.

Dante took in her appearance with a grin and noticed that without the blonde's long black jacket in the way, her plaid skirt seemed even shorter and he got to fully appreciate the meister's tone, creamy legs which seemed to go on for miles. The sloppy tie and bed-mussed hair didn't help keep his lecherous grin down either. _'Damn, Soul is one lucky son of a bitch to wake up to a sight like that every morning. Wonder if she's as much of a hellcat in bed as she is when she's angry...'_ Shifting his thoughts away from that runaway train of thoughts and focusing his eyes back on her face, the Cheshire grin not fading, he explained, "I was out finishing an easy mission that one of my partners dropped on me this morning when I spotted Soul so I figured since we were going to meet up later anyway, what better time than now? You_ did _want to work together after all."

Catching the amused look in his ice blue eyes, Maka reaffirmed to herself that oh yes, it was definitely too early in her day for this. Giving him a skeptical look, she returned to her pancakes, having no choice but to accept his explanation as the truth. "So what do you suggest we do then? This city is your jurisdiction, have you found anything odd in it lately?"

Placing his hands behind his head, Dante looked up at the ceiling pretending to think it over. "Babe, everything in my business is odd. As for what we could do…I know this nice little Italian place that happens to have a hotel nearby…"Maka growled in frustration and threw her coffee cup at him before he finished his sentence.

"Can you not take anything seriously?!"

The hunter merely leaned his head slightly to the side and avoided it with a chuckle, listening as the cup went sailing past him and shattered against the wall behind him. "Okay okay, serious plan than. You two could always come with me on any missions around here and I could go with you to look for those things you hunt-"

"Pre-Kishin souls," Maka interjected.

"Yeah, those things, then we just wait for the big bad boss to show himself, if there even is one anyway. Plus you can use that Soul whatever-"

"Perception."

"-and see if you find anything strange with what we come across."

Soul shrugged his shoulders and looked to his partner, "It's as good a plan as any Maka. Shinigami-sama wasn't very specific with his orders. We don't even know what we're looking for and it wouldn't be cool to wander aimlessly for weeks."

The scythe meister thought it over, trying to come up with any other plan that didn't involve spending so much time with the demon hunter and was a bit frustrated when nothing came to mind. Sighing in defeat, Maka leaned her forehead into her hand so she wouldn't have to make eye contact while saying, "I can't believe I'm saying this but...for now, let's go with your idea Dante. I'm going to finish getting dressed. **Not. A. Word.**" Maka glared at the hunter and stressed each word as she left the kitchen table and retreated back to her room.

Soul watched as his meister left, a small grin on his face and a chuckle escaped his lips as he caught on to something he was sure the other male didn't. Maka was an open book the majority of the time, the blonde wore her heart on her sleeve and had a terrible poker face, but there were instances where only Soul could see what she was feeling or thinking. "...I think she's warming up to you man."

Raising an eyebrow in question, Dante swung his feet off the table and onto the ground with a thud as he turned his attention to the human weapon, "Oh yeah? How do you figure?"

Red eyes gleamed with mirth and his grin widened, showing off his shark-like teeth as he glanced over at the other, "You didn't get Maka chopped for openly staring at her legs."

The half-breed felt his jaw drop ever so slightly; he hadn't pegged Soul for the observational type. Before he could come up with some sort of response, Maka returned to the kitchen fully dressed, buttoning her long coat and slipping on her white gloves as she stared at the two expectantly, "Ready you two? I'd like to cover the areas Soul and I didn't get to last night before we ran into you."

Without waiting for a response, Maka headed towards the door but paused with her hand hovering over the door knob before turning around and looking pointedly at Dante. "Two things before we go…42-42-564, whenever you want to knock on death's door. Commit it to memory because if you ever need to get a hold of Shinigami-sama, simply fog up a window or mirror and trace in those numbers. The other thing," She placed a hand in her pocket and pulled out the few red gems she had picked up yesterday and held them out to him. "These came from those demons we killed but what are they for?"

Dante took one from her, tossing it in his hand before placing it back in hers. "These are the crystalized form of demon blood. They're kinda like bartering chips when you need to get your hands on something useful from the demon realm, like vital stars."

Questions immediately sprang up in her mind as she put the stones back in her pocket, but Maka refrained from asking them. For now, she wanted to get a better look at the city and hopefully find a lead to explain the escalation in unusual activity.

* * *

Today would be busy, that much she was certain. Ino paced the room, making sure everything was in place before sitting down. Curled shoulder length violet hair, pale yellow eyes, and tanned skin reflected back at her at first when she looked into the bowl of clear water on the table in front of her. The dog witch muttered an incantation softly, watching as the surface shifted from her reflection and changed to show a low view point of the apartment Maka and Soul inhabited. Her dog familiar was sniffing around an empty garbage can across the street and gave her a limited, but useful view of the three as they walked out the door. In a place like Limbo, strays were everywhere so the witch could use them to gather intel without rousing too much suspicion.

Smirking, Ino cleared the image away with a wave of her hand. "Things are moving smoothly on that end it seems, but now for the other..." Ino turned to the items on the table next to her bowl, grabbing the dagger that gleamed up at her and delicately cutting a lock of her purple hair off. Dropping the severed strands into the bowl, she then made a small cut along the tip of her index finger and let the small amount of blood drip into the water alongside her hair. "Physical conditions met…now," Ino brought her hands up and concentrated, feeling her power flow through her veins as she moved her hands in intricate fashion with her spell. "Inu Inu, Canine Cine…"

The water shifted and changed, glowing a faint blue before rising up and taking a form similar to a screen. After a few moments, the blank image changed to show the figure of a man with dark hair pulled back and sitting on a high throne looking less then pleased at being bothered by her. Though he had the appearance of a human, closer inspection would reveal pure black eyes, skin so thin and white that anyone looking could see the blue veins spider underneath, and sharp black nails which were tapping the arm of the throne impatiently.

"Don't you know it's not polite to keep a lady waiting Mammy?***" **Ino grinned and leaned her head in her hand as she stared at the image.

The man sighed irritably, "What are you bothering me for now Ino? Unlike you, I have important things to do."

"Oh come now, don't be like that! I gave you my prized baby didn't I, you greedy little bastard? Cerberus was not easy to train you know, three heads with three different personalities means three times the amount of training just to be your faithful watch dog. Then you go and lose him to a half breed! If anything, I should be upset with you, but because I am just sooo forgiving when it comes to you, I'll just take a favor instead of an apology. Honestly it even helps you out. I know, I can't believe how generous I'm being either!"

The man she was so blatantly disrespecting didn't seem any more annoyed then an older brother might be of his sister, which wasn't far off the mark. Mammon placed a hand over his eyes, knowing it was best to let Ino get everything out at once so she didn't constantly interrupt him; hundreds of years dealing with his younger half-sister had taught him as much. Oh yes, the demon prince had a witch for a sibling but that fact was not shared with anyone other than direct family. It might have been no secret that his mother Persephone held no love for his father, but indiscretions like her pregnancy by another man, a witch no less, was information that was kept under lock and key.

Scoffing, he chose to side step the jab at losing his pet to the younger son of Sparda and kept the conversation moving, "I'll think about it. What is it you want?"

Nonchalantly examining a lock of purple hair wound around her finger, she answered as if what she wanted was something as simple as borrowing a book. Mammon knew though, that things concerning the dog witch were _never_ simple. "I just want to borrow someone for something…"

Her vague answer made him narrow his eyes, already prepared to deny anyone she named. "Ino, I don't know what half brained plan you've come up with this time, but I'm not about to put my neck on the line for it!"

Ino pouted, "Aw but you don't even know who I was gonna say! Besides, it's not like you necessarily _have _to tell Hades about it…he's always so busy that I doubt he would even notice and by the time he did, I can guarantee he wouldn't care. If…_when _all goes the way I want it to, I'll even let you take some credit." Her pale eyes sparkled with sadistic mischief and delight, her affinity towards chaos showing as she thought of all the havoc her plan would create. Now she just needed her brother to give her what she wanted and she'd be on her way.

Mammon knew he was going to regret it, he just _knew_ _it, _but of course it didn't stop him from asking, "And who is this person that you need so badly?"

Smirking, she let one name pass her lips, "Nelo Angelo."

* * *

Maka's chest heaved up and down, her muscles screaming at her for being pushed for so long but she couldn't stop. The meister had never before faced this many pre-kishins in such numbers, not to mention the demons that seemed to swarm towards her and Dante as well. Red souls and gems harmless floated, scattered about the open street. Every time she went to collect a soul, another foe stood in her way forcing her to leave the souls in favor of defeating her opponent.

Again, the meister parried a blow from a nasty looking pre-kishin, letting out an angry cry as she pushed the former human away from herself before jumping up and slashing her scythe clear down the middle of its torso and into the ground. Another red tinged soul floated in front of the blonde, but Maka had to once again leave it.

"Oi Maka, just how many of these guys are there?" Soul looked at his partner with a slight show of concern, face reflected in the blade of his scythe form. Through there resonance link he could feel her soul wavering from exhaustion, but knew the stubborn girl wouldn't stop fighting until she fell over dead so long as there were enemies around.

She grit her teeth, sliding one foot back and crouching down before shooting forward and hooking two ugly looking demons with her blade and tearing them apart. "Way too many Soul…I think they're starting to thin out though." she said as she glanced over at their temporary partner, Dante to see how he was fairing.

While Maka was starting to tire, Dante looked like he couldn't be happier. Slashing his way through waves of demons with his ever faithful Rebellion, laughing at how easily they fell. This was what he lived for, the decimation of demons who foolishly tried to come after him. He was so intent on plowing through a group of lesser demons, he failed to notice a Hell Vanguard teleport behind him and rip its scythe though his back, the blade protruding out his torso.

The meister heard the sickening sound of metal tearing through flesh and bone and turned to see Dante on his knees with the blade of a scythe embedded in his body, blood pooling on the ground beneath him. Wide green and red eyes both stared at their fallen comrade before Maka took off running towards the demon screaming in rage and sadness, her resonance with Soul flaring out dangerously to match her emotions. She slid next to the Hell Vanguard and swung her weapon horizontally, using the momentum to catch it in the stomach with her blade and push the demon away from the seemingly injured hunter.

"Maka…" Soul spoke softly, feeling his meister's strong emotions and trying to help her keep them under control. The last time she felt this strongly was when Chrona was almost killed by Medusa and the blonde had not handled it well. Her rage and sorrow had almost caused them both to slip into madness if Marie-Sensei hadn't been there to stop her. Maka cared about people so easily and it wasn't always for the better.

"...That's cute babe, I didn't know you cared so much…" a familiar voice chuckled. Dante slowly stood; the gaping hole that was once on his torso had healed thanks to his blood though he was still in pain. It seemed his ribs hadn't quite reset themselves yet but he was patched up enough to fight.

The blonde scythe meister stood still, shocked that he not only got up from an attack like that so easily, but there wasn't even any wound! She snapped out of her dumbfounded state and helped him make quick work of the demon and the few stragglers surrounding it.

Once all that surrounded them were harmless floating souls and gems, did Maka turn to face the half-devil.

"Y-You….Idiot!" Maka was a flurry of emotions so she expressed it the only way she could. She Maka chopped the red clad man with all her strength before wrapping her arms around him in a fierce hug. "Next time warn me that you aren't dead you asshole!"

Soul had reverted back to his human form and watched with amusement. He was glad Dante was ok, but his over reacting meister was always good for some entertainment.

It seemed both males shared a similar thought as they watched her release her hold on him and storm off, _'Women, always so damn emotional.'_

* * *

***Now, I know I'm crossing Greek mythology with Christianity here but bear with me. I like the Christians idea for the Seven Demon Princes of hell, each representing one of the seven deadly sins (which is why Ino calls Mammon a greedy little bastard, as that is his assigned sin) but since Lucifer is at the top for Pride, I needed a name to use for their daddy dearest and Hades just came to mind. So sorry for the shameless mixing, but that's just how it goes :P If you're interested….here's the list of all seven princes who may or may not, come into this story later on:**

**Lucifer is Pride**

**Mammon is Greed**

**Asmodeus is Lust**

**Satan is Wrath**

**Beelzebub is Gluttony**

**Leviathan is Envy and lastly,**

**Belphegor is Sloth**


End file.
